The Jack Noodle Journal

I found out my grades today. I got an A in Design for Multimedia Display, I got an A in Intro to Authoring, I got an A in Intro to Editing, I got an A in Psychology of Creativity and I got an A in History of Material Culture 3! Yes, you read that right folks, STRAIGHT A s! 4.0! Can you believe it? Woo Hoo! I was very excited. It wasn’t easy though, I worked for it for sure. It was a hard term. I was pretty sure about the grades in all of the classes but History of Material Culture. I thought I had a B in that. I must have done really well on the final. Oh man, that is so awesome. I am so happy. Now the term is officially behind me. My perfect grades made the whole day good for me.

It was a work day again. Yee haw! It was pretty boring again. It went fairly fast though so that’s cool. I brought a whole bunch of CDs with me today and loaded them all up on my work computer’s iTunes. I have 1.7 days worth of music on my work computer. ITunes is pretty fun to play around with when you’re suppose to be working. A couple of albums of note that I loaded up today were “A Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis, “The Bends” by Radiohead and “Purple Rain” by Prince. All wonderful CDs.

I borrowed the Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers DVD set from my brother the other day. 4 discs of stuff. I have been wondering when I am going to watch all of it. The extended version of movie is 4 hours I guess. I am interested in watching the making of stuff. I don’t have work tomorrow, maybe I will watch some of it then.

K is at work tonight. Just Phillip, Pierre, and I hanging out. I have some beer that I am slowly working on. You know, it’s spring break after all. I think we are going to go and celebrate our good grades tomorrow night. Yes, K got A s also. I think there are some of her school chums meeting somewhere tomorrow night. Oh, hold on I think the dog needs to go out. One second.

I think I am a little sleepy tonight after a days work. You know I don’t dig ditches or any other form of manual labor and still I am tired. I don’t have any sore muscles from working hard lifting things, just dry eyeballs from staring at a monitor all day.

You know, things are going really well so far this week. I hope this up swing continues for another couple of weeks. I am really in good spirits now.

Hi there kids. How goes it? My spring break fun was put on hold today while I went to work. Stinks! The only comfort I had while being trapped in the office was that it was rainy outside today. Yep, the beautiful sun filled day yesterday is a long forgotten memory. Maybe it will be sunny tomorrow.

I have been checking the school web site to see what my grades for last term were and they haven’t posted them yet. I thought they were going to post them on Monday? Maybe they meant next Monday. I need to just get a grip and let it go already. It’s spring break man! Stop checking that web site!

Yes, work was okay today. Pretty hum drum. Not much else happened in my world today. This week the news of the real World is filled with continued trouble. There is a commission investigating the 9-11 terrorist attacks. They’re trying to find out I guess, if the White House did everything in it’s power that it could have done to maybe have stopped the attacks. You know, now that I have typed it out here it doesn’t make much sense to me. Who cares if they have a commission investigating the attacks? What good will that do if they find anything out one way or another? Does that bring any of the victims back? Will it bring the troops in Iraq home? I don’t know, the state of politics in the United States and the medias portrayal of politics makes me want to puke. I really question the intelligence of this great country we live in.

Can you believe it? We are nearing the end of March. This year has been zooming on by quite speedily. It will be April before you know it and then in a blink of an eye it will be August! Oh man. K and I have to get our taxes in to someone soon. We’re planning on having someone else figure our taxes out for us this year. I hope we don’t owe any more this year.

Plotting and scheming. I was thinking about some schemes on the bus this morning and I think I need to figure out how to author things for DVD. I took a brief look at some DVD authoring software last term and I think that would be a good skill to pick up. DVDs are a great delivery device. I’ll look into it some more and keep you apprised of how my progress is going.

I’ve got to head in to work again tomorrow. Yeah, some spring break right? I do get to have Thursday off so that will be nice. I should make some plans for my Thursday of freedom.

My oh my, look at the time. Where has the day gone? Today was a great day. I had quite the enjoyable day off. I saw my dad, brother and nephews in the morning and my mother, grandfather, aunt and uncle in the evening. Quite the family affair around these parts today. It was very good to see everybody. I went and got my head shaved again before heading over to my brother’s house and I think I got a little burned on top while playing at the park with the kids. I’m a little pink this evening. Oh yes, did I mention that the weather was absolutely gorgeous for my day off today? The Sun was so bright. I had a very relaxing day.

Tomorrow I’ve got to go to work. I should just try my best to not think about how beautiful it is outside while I am in the office tomorrow. I’ll just pretend that it is rainy and stormy out.

I was thinking about it today and I think that we should really make a huge effort to go camping as many times as we can this year. We have been good in recent years to go camping quite a few times, but I think this year we should go more often. Like every other weekend. I think it would be fun to take the nephews camping. Thier parents would definitely have to be present though because we couldn’t camp with them by ourselves.

I hope it’s as sunny tomorrow as it was today. I should probably take the skateboard with me in the morning.

Good afternoon all! How are you doing this beautiful spring day? I am doing quite splendidly. It is so amazing outside right now. I really shouldn’t be in here typing right now. I should be sitting outside in the backyard soaking this sunshine up. I just got done mowing the lawn and I just finished a nice shower. I am all nice and relaxed and ready to take a nap outside on the lawn. The mowing did some good, it looks nice out there. This morning we forced ourselves out of bed and took a nice walk with the dog to get some coffee. Gosh, not a cloud in the sky. I hope it last like this for the rest of my spring break.

Last night we went out and had Mexican food at a restaurant on 28th that we hadn’t been to yet, who’s name I can’t remember. The food was alright. I was pretty impressed with the interior design of the place. Yes, that is a strange statement. I didn’t care for the crowd of customers that were there. They were too loud.

K and I then went and saw the movie, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. You know, the new Jim Carrey movie. It was really good. K and I both liked it quite a bit. I can see how other people wouldn’t like it, so I can’t say that you MUST go see it. I can say that we enjoyed it and didn’t mind paying the $8.50 a piece for it. I don’t have any negative comments about it. It was a good subtle movie like “Lost in Translation”, which I liked better probably due to the mood I was in at the time of Lost in Translation compared to my mood during Eternal Sunshine. Jim Carrey did a good job acting. I really got into the story, the idea of the whole thing and felt pretty sad at times during the movie but left pretty happy at the end. I sure am getting more emotional with my old age. I would definitely like to go see it again actually. After having my editing class last term, I really noticed and admired how great the editing was in the movie. I thought it was well edited and there was some really cool camera work.

A lazy Sunday without any homework sure is nice. Tonight there’s a new Simpsons on that you MUST see. I don’t know if you MUST see it, but I will be checking it out. I am going out with my brother and the boys and my dad tomorrow to do some sort of recognition of my dad’s birthday which was last week. My mom is going to also be in town the beginning of next week. It will be really good to see her. I haven’t seen her in quite some time and miss her.

Right now I think I am going to sit in the Sun and do some reading. Who knows, I may even slip a nap in there somewhere.

K is back home! The eagle has landed. Hooray! Pierre, Phillip and I are happy to have her back. Believe it or not, I actually got the house cleaned up pretty good this morning before she got back. I destroyed all of the evidence of my life of squalor. She did ask why it smelled like rotten food when she walked in though so that’s not good. I should have lit some incense. K had a wonderful trip, filled with lots of fun. She is happy to be home though for sure. Hold on one second while I get some milk and cookies. I am so hungry.

The Sun came out off and on today. It was pretty nice for the most part. It was a lovely spring day. Do you guys have any plans for the weekend? I can’t think of a single one. I suppose we should do something with the weekend huh? I just got done taking a nap that only made me more sleepy now. I’ve got to wake up. I didn’t have any coffee this morning. That wasn’t very smart of me. I tried my best to sleep in this morning but was wide awake at 7:30. My inner clock is trained now for early rising.

I read over the last weeks entries and was quite impressed with myself. It was a pretty busy week and I think I made it through like a champ. I am just now, at this hour, beginning to feel like I am winding down. I will find my grades out as early as Monday. I’m fairly sure I did pretty good.

Now that I am at a moment of calm, I need to get back to the plotting and scheming. My plans and ideas have been on hold for a while there. I need to revisit some of the topics that I was pondering before battle mode hit. Hmmm, now where was I?

We’re going to head out to eat now. I hope we have Mexican. Maybe we should rent some videos this evening.

Hey there hey there! Do you know what? It’s spring break! Yes! Woo Hoo! I am so excited, I thought that this moment would never come. The weather didn’t cooperate with spring break fun at all today. It rained and rained. I got pretty wet walking home from work. The forecast for the next few days looks much better. The sun will be back tomorrow.

My test went a lot better than I thought it would last night. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. It really helped to study my butt off.

Yes so now it’s spring break, what should I do? Oh, that’s right, I need to buckle down and get this house cleaned up. I am feeling awfully drowsy this evening. I think some sleeping may be in order.

We have got some rainy and cold weather outside right now my friends! Yes I had to walk in it a bit on my way to school this morning. I hope it goes away soon so I can have some sunshine during my time off next week. I think I am going to drive my car back to school tonight. There was a strange group of people washed in from the rain today on the bus both directions. They were really bugging me for some reason and invading my head space. I am in test taking focused mode now. I can’t be distracted from that thinking with lame stories about convenience store clerks with guns behind the counter in Lincoln City. Some people really talk too loud for their own good.

Yes, I am almost there kids. I did really well on my Intro to Editing final this morning. Piece of cake. I really liked that class this term. Now only one more final left to take. My History of Material Culture final in a few hours. I didn’t care for that class as much. Wish me luck my friends. I think this test is going to be really tough. I have been studying for it all day. So many names to remember! I am still studying and only stopped for a brief break to write in the journal.

After the test tonight I’m done baby! I think I may go have a drink to celebrate. You know for all the moaning and groaning I did these last two weeks, it has been a pretty good term. I think that all the hard work I did was good for me. Builds character right?

Oh my dear lord! Now that the School work is all finished, I Have one more horrible mission to complete before Saturday afternoon. I have got to get this house cleaned up. It is probably god that K isn’t here now to see this mess. Boy oh boy what a pig pen! I didn’t do one ounce of cleaning this week. It shows. The stacks of dishes in the kitchen are a horror story waiting to happen. Oh what a mess! I’ve got some time now to get the house back in order before K gets back.

Please tell me, has this week been going on forever and ever? It’s only Wednesday and it feels like the Friday after next. My neck is stiff and sore. It’s good though I’m getting lots of work done. I am going to try and make an effort to stop complaining here. It hasn’t really been complaining though has it? It’s been more like annoying whining. Buck up camper! The weekend is almost here! Woo freaking hoo!

How was your day today? Mine was pretty good. I got my puppy CD ROM turned in right on time. I think it actually turned out better than I thought it would. It’s hard to imagine why I was so freaked out just a short 24 hours ago. Actually it’s not hard. It is quite nice to have all of my projects finished now for the term. Now only two final exams and then this term is over baby! I was thinking about it on my walk to work this afternoon, and for me, projects are far more stressful than final exams. The big difference is that with projects and things I am creating, there are so many unknowns throughout the whole process. I am often not sure if something is going to work out until it is actually in teacher’s hands. With final exams a lot of the guess work is gone. There’s no surprises really, you study or you don’t and then you go to class, sit down, take the test, and either do good or don’t. There are no files that are threatening to go corrupt with a final. Your not spending hours trying to figure out how to make the dog in the park you’ve drawn, chase the virtual stick that you throw.

I am spending my week with two nutty animals. They have just been sitting and staring at me. I’ve got to study for my tests, boys! Poor Phillip has really been dying for some serious play time. I am trying to give him as much attention as I possibly can, but he really deserves more. God Phillip! Always with the toy throwing! All right already. I am totally going to smother him with attention after tomorrow. Gosh, we are a strange bunch in this house. I can almost hear the cat and dog saying, “That’s not the way mom does it!” I must be going crazy. The animals are talking to me and I can hear them.

The rain came back for some of the day today. It rained though while I wasn’t out in it so that’s good.

Okay, I am listening to Moby now on the CD player, and both animals have decided that they both want to sit on my lap at the same time. Yep, they are both balanced up here now. I REALLY can’t type like this. Weirdos.

Hey there! Yes, oh look again. It is another handwritten journal entry! You know, when I don’t get to transcribing this paper entry on the same day and get lots of emails wondering what the heck is going on, I am quite pleased. I am very grateful that you are all reading my ramblings and are keeping me on it when you think I’ve missed a beat. The 2004 Project and myself are in your debt. We at least owe you a drink.

I am writing this now as I am riding the MAX home after a day of work. I thought that I had better write in the notebook since I probably wouldn’t have time this evening to do a computer post justice. I don’t remember running around this much last term. As I was walking to the MAX station today I was trying to figure out why this end of term was so much more difficult than last term. Then it hit me. Of course, how soon I forget! Last term I turned the Phillip movie in for the final project in 3 different classes. That left me with only 2 classes to attend to. This term I have had 4 different final projects due. Next term I think I am going to have to start my final projects sooner maybe. I’ll need to figure something out because I am really getting tired of whining about it here in the journal. This chicken with it’s head cut off business is quite unbecoming.

I think I am going to blame everything on my friend Kathleen. I was telling her over the Christmas break how happy I was to be on the ball enough to figure out a way to turn in one assignment for 3 different classes. She said that at her school they call that double dipping and treat it as a form of plagiarism. Taking that into consideration, I tried to not double dip this term. What the Hell do they know at Vanderbuilt anyway really? Screw that . Next term I am triple and quadruple dipping.

I probably should have skipped work again today. I did leave a few hours early though. Hopefully that will help a little. Poor Phillip has been inside all day today by himself. I have to head home and let him out to go potty, then I have to go to school and finish up this project.

You know, I think that there is something wrong with this MAX I am on. It is totally going way too slow, oh, and now it stopped. A broken down MAX train is not in my schedule of events for the day. Alright it started up.

Yes, I must go free Phillip from his prison.

Nope, it’s broke. They’re working on it now. Something smells smoky. Oh good it started up again.

There is going to be passenger build up at the next few stops that have been waiting all this time for us. I may have to stop writing here if someone sits next to me and starts reading my ramblings over my shoulder. I would just feel creepy if some bus riding stranger were to read my journal. Ha ha, just kidding. Oh yes, see, here comes a big stop full of people.

Okay one more push tonight and then a little push in the morning then I will be done with this puppy CD ROM. It really could have been a better product. Right now I am just hoping to have it finished enough to not be embarrassing.

Greetings all. Oh yes it was such a wonderfully beautiful day out again. I did see the sun shining from inside the school building. I finished off one more class today. People, I am glad to see these puppies go. I did quite a bit of work on my final remaining project after class today. After that I went and picked Phillip up from day care. He had a fun day of playing I do believe. I then dropped him off at home and walked over to the Bonfire and had a burger and a beer. Now I am back home and starting to work on my project again.

I am so excited. My next 2004 CD purchase has presented itself to me today. There’s a new Blonde Redhead CD coming out! I am listening to the recorded session of them when they played the “Morning Becomes Eclectic” radio show live this morning. The songs they are playing are awfully melancholy. I was kind of hoping for a few upbeats tunes. I’ll have to listen to the whole thing before I fork over my hard earn dollars I think. You know Morning Becomes Eclectic right? I listen to it quite a bit at work. Lots of good music.

I will probably be getting the newest Walkmen CD first before anything else. I’ll have to hear it though to make sure. I really do love that earlier one I have. If the newer one is anything like the old one, then I’ll be quite pleased. As I was sitting at the Bonfire tonight I was thinking that there has become a “Love Below, Speakerboxx” dilemma in my life. I don’t listen to that Outkast CD at all anymore. I was so excited about for 2 weeks. What happened? It didn’t have any long term power over me did it? I don’t even know where it is now. I should listen to it tomorrow at work. Maybe 2 weeks is my average length of excitement with every CD. I haven’t talked about that newer Marilyn Manson CD in a while, have I?

Alright kids, here’s the deal. I can’t slow down now. I’m feeling like it might be nice to sit and relax for awhile, but I really shouldn’t. I have to keep it going. To finish my project I will have to be using Director MX, a program at school. I was going to go back to the computer lab this evening but I decided that I would work on the components of the project here that didn’t need Director. If I can get all of the pieces done tonight then I could assemble them at school tomorrow night after work. Oh man. Maybe just a little nap.

I can’t wait for Spring break next week! It is going to be very nice. I don’t have anything planned yet except for chilling. I am in need of a break to revive myself. I need to get my fire back. I will be happy to see my friend K again.